by Ford, Mia
Or not. I had every intention of spending each and every single dime and penny that I had before I died. The kids might just have to forage for themselves in this world as I had done. Nothing came easy. If it did, then you would end up not appreciating it. Or squandering it, like I planned to do.
I chuckled to myself as I sipped the bourbon and started to craft a profile for the new nanny position.
When I was finished I read it over and posted it to Craigslist and a few other well-trafficked sites.
I hoped that someone decent would actually apply.
Just then I heard the noise. The kids were back. Dammit.
They instantly bounded up the stairs and into my office because I’d left the door open forgetting that I no longer had privacy in my own house.
“Daddy,” Nicki asked. “Will you play with us?”
It came out sounding like “Wilv you pway wif uss?”
I wanted to be upset about this but his speech was actually getting better.
“No,” I said. “I have work to do. Go play quietly in your room. If you boys make a damn peep in there, then I’m going to whip you both good.”
Nicki began to whine. “Please!”
That was it. I was not going to put up with that disrespect. I stormed over to him, grabbed him, and smacked him across the face. It wasn’t a hard hit, but enough to jolt him out of his childish tantrum and remind him who the boss was.
He started crying and walked out.
“Knock it off or you’ll get more.”
His brother looked at me and then at Nicki before quietly following behind him.
“Damn kids,” I said.
Why did I keep them around? I was so sick of them?
Sometimes I really wondered. My life would have been so much freer without them. But they did attract sexy nanny’s…
Chapter Twenty-Three
Leia
Here we go. Just be calm.
I knocked on the door and waited. I was so nervous. I’d been watching Ted for several days trying to determine the best way to make an entrance back into his life when I saw his nanny storm out and flip him the bird before getting into her car and driving off like a mad woman. It did not take much to put the pieces of that puzzle together.
Then it hit me. That was perfect. I figured he would be posting an ad online, as he had finally gotten me to do a few years ago. When I found his ad I responded to it and tried to make it sound as good as possible, but mostly I tried to make myself look as sexy as possible. I knew Ted better than he probably knew himself. And he would only hire attractive nannies that he thought he could sleep with. That was a given.
So, I was now going to be that nanny. And it would be a great way for me to ingratiate myself back into the boys’ lives and get to know them. Wow, they would be almost four years old now. I couldn’t believe how long it had taken me to get there. But I was there.
Boys, momma’s coming. I love you.
The door opened and a man I didn’t recognize, but did recognize as a butler answered the door. He was middle aged and held a look of utter smugness and contempt on his face. I could only imagine what a tyrant Ted was to work for when I wasn’t there to run interference. Ted always left the staff and the dealings with them all up to me. I felt this man’s pain from the moment he opened the door.
“Yes, my name is Le--” I stopped short, correcting myself. It was going to take some getting used to, but I couldn’t very well tell Ted my actual name. “I’m sorry,” I said clearing my throat. “My name is Jane Naysmith. I’m here about the nanny position.”
“Right this way,” the butler said with a heavy British accent.
I followed him inside. It felt strange to be here. It was a brand new house; the old house to my understanding was so badly damaged that it had to be torn down. Ted had rebuilt a new house according to his plans on the same land. He was such a bastard. I felt like a piece of my family’s history had gone up in smoke.
The butler led me into the living room where he gestured for me to have a seat on the sofa. I did so while he went to retrieve Ted. The house was nice, and a bit bold for my taste. But it was not unpleasant. Ted did have taste and style. I remembered that.
“Hello, I’m Ted.”
I stood up to greet Ted and I saw his eyes light up as he laid eyes on me. I kind of figured that, especially from him. He was being totally obvious about it and he did not care one iota. I expected no less from the pig.
“I’m Jane Naysmith,” I said reaching my hand out.
Ted took it softly and kissed the back of it. “Very charmed.”
I pretended to blush slightly. I could not remember the last time someone had used a move like that on me. Hand kissing? Was that even done anymore anywhere? I made a point to look it up.
“You have a lovely home,” I said making conversation.
Ted grabbed a folder and opened it up. He had a piece of paper in his hand and looked it over.
“I took the liberty of printing out your profile for our interview,” Ted said. “Well, actually—let’s call it a meeting. Interview just sounds too formal and nerve racking, doesn’t it?”
“I agree,” I said.
“Great. As far as I’m concerned it is one professional discussing a business deal with another professional. Can I offer you something to drink before we get started?”
“I’m fine, thanks”
Ted scanned the pages in his hand. “Alright, then. It says here you have been a full time nanny for the past six years. That’s impressive. And for a few different families, with kids of different ages. Fantastic. Any kids as young as mine?”
“Yes. The Davidsons, the family I was with before had a clan that was ages three through eight. They were quite the handful, but they were great.”
Ted sighed. “Wow, that is amazing. I’m not sure I could handle it. Just my two little boys run me ragged sometimes.”
Ted laughed, his same fake game show host laugh. God, I wanted to strangle him.
“So, why did you stop working with that family?” He asked.
“They moved,” I said.
“OK, well that makes sense then,” Ted said. “I guess most of the employers don’t pay what I do. At least, not enough for you to go with them.”
“No,” I said. “The salary you are offering is very generous.”
“Well, I feel that if people are well-paid for their efforts then their efforts will always be at the top of their ability. The pride of reward goes hand in hand with the pride of the work. Am I right?”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
I knew he didn’t believe any of it. He only paid that much because he could and because it would attract many more applicants, so he’d have a much larger pool of attractive women to choose from. That was typical Ted. He was a lying snake in the grass. I couldn’t wait until he was looking at me from behind bars.
“So, what made you want to become a nanny?” Ted asked.
So far I was impressed with how much this sounded like an actual interview.
“I’ve always loved kids. I don’t have any of my own yet, so taking care of others will do for now. Maybe after I have kids of my own I might quit, but you know even then I don’t think I ever would. I just love taking care of little ones.”
Ted smiled. “Good answer. Good answer.”
I had to admit I was even being charmed a bit by him. Wow, he was good. And I hated his guts. That was the allure of the psychopath, I guessed.
“Thanks,” I said with a flirtatious little giggle.
“So, are there certain schedules that don’t work for you?” Ted asked.
“Well, I’m pretty flexible. When do you need me?”
Ted sighed. “Well, mostly it would be late afternoons. I need someone to pick the kids up from school and then be with them pretty much until bedtime. I work a lot and I often have to go to the office at odd hours. So, I’m not able to be home as much as I would like to. My wife passed away a few years ago… and it is ju
st hard being a single father, you know?”
Ted was actually tearing up. I couldn’t believe it. They were real tears. Real tears with nothing real behind them. How did he do it? I was almost too shocked to pretend to be sympathetic as he talked about his dead wife that he murdered.
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said. I decided to make him squirm. “How did it happen?”
“Oh, it was so tragic. I was out of town with the kids and somehow a fire got started. I told her never to use that old lamp; I knew it had a short in it. But she had it since she was a kid—she was an orphan and it meant a lot to her—and she must have plugged it in and fell asleep.”
“That’s so terrible,” I said feigning sadness. Really? That was the story he was going with? Wow, he was a real piece of work.
“I’m sorry,” Ted said wiping his eyes. “I didn’t mean to get worked up.”
“It’s ok.”
Ted reached out and touched my leg with a sweet smile. “You have a great heart. Thank you.”
He removed his hand and looked back at the paper. “When can you start?”
“I can start as soon as you need me,” I said.
“Well, if you could start tomorrow that would be great,” Ted said. “Would you like to meet the kids? They are upstairs playing in their room.”
“Oh, I’d love to.”
I was going to see my children. After three long years… I could barely stand straight as I followed Ted up the stairs and down the hallway towards their room. I was almost shaking. I wanted to hold my babies in my arms again. I hoped one day they would understand why I did what I did. It was for the best, and it was for the best for them too. I just wanted them to know how sorry I was and how much I loved them.
By the time we got to their room, it was all I could do to hide the tears. But I couldn’t let Ted see me cry. I had to stay in character. It was of the utmost importance. I’d worked so hard and come so far; I couldn’t blow this mission now.
When I saw the kids for the first time, my heart just melted inside of my chest. They were beautiful. Both of the twins had grown so much. They were toddlers. I watched them for a few seconds as they played with their little action figures and made loud noises. They were typical boys.
But the second Ted was in the room I sensed a change.
“Boys, we have a visitor,” Ted said. “I want you to stop playing and meet your new nanny.”
“Hi, guys,” I said.
“This is Nicki and Alex,” Ted added pointing to each one.
The kids looked at me. I could see the fear in their eyes and as I knelt down I could smell that at least one of them had soiled themselves.
“Um, I think somebody had an accident,” I said.
Ted groaned. “That would be Nicki. He is still in pull ups, even though I’ve gone through potty training with him and he knows how to do it. Lately it just seems like he has regressed a bit.”
“It’s ok,” I said. “I can change him. Where do you keep the pullups?”
Ted seemed impressed at my initiative. He got the clean pullups for me and I changed Nicki and put some clean clothes on him.
“Wow, he has already taken to you,” Ted said. “Normally, it takes him awhile to warm up to somebody. I guess you are going to be a big hit around here.”
I forced a smile at him and then smiled at Nicki who smiled back at me. He was so sweet, so loving. But I could tell that he was scared to death of Ted. If I hadn’t been there and Ted had discovered this accident, there is no telling what sort of punishment, he would have thrusted upon my child.
Don’t worry baby. Momma is going to rescue you soon.
When I left the house I agreed to pick up the kids at their preschool the next day at two. I was so excited I could hardly stand to drive away from there. I wanted my babies. I needed my boys to be safe and sound with me. They were terrified of their father. I only hoped it wasn’t too late to undo the damage and bad influence he’d had on them.
As I pulled out of the driveway onto the highway tears were flowing down my face. My heart was broken. I couldn’t even imagine how many diaper changes I’d missed, or bottle feedings, or first words, first steps, first time using the toilet—I’d missed so much.
“I have to get my babies,” I said resting my head on Taylor’s shoulder. When I arrived back at his place I was full on bawling my head off. I couldn’t stand the thought of my kids being subjected to the horrors of that monster. That murderer.
“You will,” Taylor said. “Everything is going perfectly.”
He kissed me sweetly and held me close. As I stood there in his loving arms I knew that he was right.
Everything was going to turn out just fine.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ted
I pulled up to the house feeling a bit drained. It had been a decent day on the golf course with Marvin and Tony, a few new business associates. They were new to the scene. Apparently, their rich daddy had died of a sudden cardiac arrest a few months back and the two of them had inherited millions. They were newly rich, young, and bored. They were the perfect suckers to get involved in the bike company.
And they loved racing. Both of them remembered me from my racing days and they were both very sympathetic to my plight with the back injury and the dead wife and all. I hammered it up a bit and milked the sympathy out of them like the pro I was. On top of that we had quite the entertaining golf game. Those guys were a riot. It was kind of like playing golf with the guys from the movie Stepbrothers.
After the game we hung out in the bar at the country club and got loaded. I must have drunk six shots of liquor with six beers to chase it down with. The boilermaker was a hell of a drink. I had to wait about two hours before I trusted myself to drive home without putting a scratch on my Ferrari.
As I drove home I thought about my current situation and how beautifully everything was working out. The new nanny I hired—Jane—she was pretty amazing. Not only was she sweet to look at, but she was super-efficient. The kids had taken to her right away and loved her to death. They minded her way better than they ever minded me or anyone else. She had some weird, sixth sense bond with them or something. Whatever it was, I couldn’t explain it. But I was happy as shit that she was there.
And lately she’d even stepped up her notch to include cleaning and some cooking, even though I had both a butler and a maid to do those things. She was not satisfied with the job they did—and apparently neither was I—because the house had become so spotless I could eat off the floors and everything sparkled.
Plus, her cooking skills were not to be outdone. She had a way of preparing food that just made every bite melt in your mouth. And it was real, succulent food. Most of the stuff my butler fixed tasted like the school lunches I remembered as a kid. Hell, I threw half of his food out and lately I’d been ordering out more than eating at home. It kind of made me wonder what the hell I was paying him for, but so far he’d been better than nothing. Now, I was starting to think about giving the nanny a slight bump in pay and firing both of their sorry asses.
I walked into the house amazed once again at how clean and “homey” it felt. It hadn’t felt like that in a long time and I was just now remembering how much I actually missed it. I was damn happy being a bachelor, but sometimes I did miss the comfort of having a great woman in the house regularly.
When I entered the kitchen I was surprised to see Jane putting the finishing touches on some Salisbury steak. It was one of my favorite dishes. And she had fixed mashed potatoes and gravy, plus some fresh, made-from-scratch rolls with it. A huge saucer plate of butter was in the middle of the table. It all smelled heavenly.
“Wow, this is a feast fit for a king,” I said.
Jane noticed me and was startled for a moment, but quickly smiled.
“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, you’re fine. I should have heard you come in,” she replied. “I gave the butler and the maid the night off. The k
ids were feeling a bit rambunctious and I thought they might do with some less noise in the house. It seemed to do the trick.”
“Good thinking,” I said. “I have to admit; I love your cooking. I’m sure that I’m not the first to mention that. Did you take any culinary classes or anything somewhere?”
“Yes, actually,” Jane said. “I attended culinary school for a few semesters, but ultimately I had to drop out due to financial issues.”
“Well, there loss is my gain. With your exceptional talent they should have let you stay for free. Hell, they could have given you a job and let you teach them.”
Jane smiled and glanced down at my pants. It was then that I remembered I was wearing the classical, checkered golf pants.
I laughed. “Yeah, sometimes when I play golf I like to ham it up and really dress the part. How do I look?”
I struck a playful pose making a mockery of how cheesy it was. I was not above being silly to amuse a beautiful woman. It had served me well in my life.
Jane giggled. “I think you look very dashing.”
“Dashing? Yeah, that’s it. Now that’s not a word I hear much anymore, except in old movies about old Britain.”
“Now, you’ve got me,” Jane said. She placed the mashed potatoes and the Salisbury steak on the table. “My father practically raised me on old movies, and he was a bit of a British history buff.”
“Sounds like a great man,” I said. “I’d love to meet him sometime.”
Jane frowned. “I’m afraid that is not possible. He passed away when I was fifteen.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said. Daddy issues. I loved it.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down at my chair at the head of the table.
“I’ll get the boys for dinner,” Jane said.
I grimaced. I’d hoped to have a meal in peace.
“Why don’t you let the boys eat in their rooms and you and I can sit down to dinner together. You’ve made enough for an army and I think you deserve a great meal. After all, you slaved over it and prepared it.”